More Googley Legal Action

April 17, 2012

We find more legal hassles for Google in “TQP Sues Another Round of Companies on Cryptography Patent.” TQP claims Google uses a patented method (patent ’730, filed in 1992) for transmitting data as a sequence of blocks in encrypted form over a communication link. According to the allegations, this patent is broken every time someone connects to one of Google’s Web sites. See the article for the technical details.

TQP is no stranger to patent lawsuits. In fact, the write up tells us:

“TQP has been very active since late 2008, suing hundreds major corporations in multiple lawsuits. TQP, a Texas company, has filed each case in the Eastern District of Texas, a popular venue for patent plaintiffs. While some of the defendants have settled with TQP, others are continuing to litigate the patent.”

Patent wizards are experts that we feed and nurture. Will common sense prevail, or will the patent wizards continue to grow more important? I suppose it is good for Acapulco condo brokers and Mercedes dealers. For innovation, well, maybe not so useful.

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